Socket wrench



Dec. 13, 1949 R. L, COWDEN 4 2,491,089

SOCKET WRENCH Filed Feb. 28, 1946 IN VEN TOR.

Patented Dec. 13, 1949 UNITED STATE S PATENT OFFICE SOCKET WRENCHRaymond L. Cowden, Mankato, Minn., assignor to Truth Tool Company,Mankato, Minn.

1 Claim. 1

This invention relates to socket wrenches.

It is a fact well known to users of wrenches of this type that there arecertain conditions under which it is desired to maintain the socket ofthe wrench in engagement with a nut while being applied to a bolt, orfor holding the head of a bolt While the bolt is being placed inposition. Generally extraordinary care must be used in handling nuts andbolts in socket wrenches to prevent them from spilling out of thesockets while the parts are being brought into position for tightening.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a socket member of awrench With a resilient gripping means which will tightly engage andhold the inserted nut or other object to be rotated so that it will notdrop therefrom accidentally while being handled.

A further object is to provide a holding means vwhich can be inserted inwrench sockets already in use.

It is another object of the invention to provide a holding device whichis simple and inexpensive in construction and can be easily placed inposition.

With the foregoing and other objects in View which will appear as thedescription proceeds, the invention consists of certain novel details ofconstruction and combinations of parts, hereinafter more fully describedand pointed out in the claims, it being understood that changes may bemade in the construction and arrangement of parts without departing fromthe spirit of the invention as claimed.

In the accompanying drawing the preferred form of the invention has beenshown.

In said drawing:

Figure 1 is a face view of a wrench socket equipped with the presentimprovement.

Figure 2 is a section on line 2-2 Figure 1.

Figure 3 is a View similar to Figure 2 showing a nut seated in thesocket and engaged and held by the attachment constituting the presentinvention.

Referring to the figures by characters of reference, A designates aWrench socket member of the usual or any preferred configuration, saidsocket being provided with the usual inner working surface B, which canbe channeled, toothed, or otherwise shaped so as to properly engage andturn a nut or the like seated in the socket.

The present invention comprises a cup-like disk I formed of rubber orother suitable resilient or compressible material of a flexible nature,this disk being proportioned to t snugly in the back portion of therecess C in socket A. The disk is provided with an annular flange 2fitted snugly against the wall of the socket and extended towards theopen end thereof. This flange forms a tapered recess 3 so proportionedthat when a nut or the like adapted to be turned by the socket member ispressed backwardly into recess C, it will become wedged Within the areadefined by the ange 2 so as to be tightly gripped by the flange as shownin Figure 3. This engaged element N, which can be a nut, as shown inFigure 3 or a bolt head, will be prevented from falling out of thesocket member A While being brought into position to be turned.Consequently, a considerable saving in time otherwise lost in replacingfallen nuts or the like is eifected.

As seen from Figures 1 and 2, only the outer end of the side Wall of thenut receiving cup of the wrench is polygonally faced. The inner end ofsaid side wall is of cylindrical cross section, the marginal flange 2overlying the cylindrical surface of said side wall. By reference toFigure 1, it is noted that at least some of the several diametricallyopposite portions of the polygonal end are spaced apart a distance lessthan the diameter of the cylindrical end. As a result, inwardly extendedprojections are defined by said diametrically opposite portions, thatact as stops preventing accidental removal of the compressible disk fromthe cup. Thus, the invention is applicable to socket Wrenches previouslymanufactured, the disk being capable of being simply a loose lit Withinthe cup so as to be capable of ready replacement when worn and so asalso to be more readily compressible by an inserted object.

What is claimed is:

The combination, with a socket wrench formed With a cup having a sideWall of polygonal cross section at its outer end and of cylindricalcross section at its inner end, the distance between at least somediametrically opposite portions of said polygonal end being less thanthe diameter of said cylindrical end, of a cup-shaped disk of compres-.sible material seated in the inner end of the cup and having a marginalflange overlying the cylindrical end of said side wall to provide awedge compressible between an inserted object and said side wall forholding said object in the cup, said diametrically opposite portions ofthe polygonal end of said side wall constituting means for preventingaccidental removal of the disk from the cup.

RAYMOND L. COWDEN.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the iile ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Great Britain Mar. 30, 1938

